The Politics of Wages and Indonesia’s Trade Unions (Article by Max Lane.)

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.
 In 2015, all unions opposed a new regulation on wages that restricted the use of the
dignified standard of living condition.
 In the 2017 Jakarta gubernatorial elections, a coalition of unions signed a Political
Contract with one set of candidates who promised wage increases above those
mandated by recent government regulations.
 The new Governor of Jakarta has not adhered to the Political Contract he signed,
causing tensions with some unions.
 Indonesia’s two largest union confederations have now become aligned to
competing political blocs.
 It is likely that there will be no serious union challenge to the new regulations.
However, de-escalated campaigning and strong alignments with existing political
blocs may open up space for some of the many other unions to grow.